I was out and about today running errands with my family and I was struck by all of the "stuff" around me. Do we know what a blessed nation we are? Or are we? Have we realized that this is all meaningless? Have we realized how much work we have made for ourselves trying to organize all of our STUFF! We buy bins, shelves, hooks,and baskets, just to try to manage all of this stuff! I am probably the most guilty when it comes to organizing stuff, truly meaningless things.
In the check out line I just ponder for a minute - and the noise of the beep beep beep beep sound of the cash registers is loud and quite annoying! I began thinking about Proverbs 23:5 which says, "Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky line an eagle."
So that brings me to the question: Are riches stable? I think about what is happening on Wall Street and Main Street and in our Capital right now. For many, their life savings or retirement just grew wings in the last month and flew away. So many have lost so much! All that hard work and labor...completely gone... meaningless.
When I got home and had a quiet moment I starting reading Ecclesiastes which was written by King Solomon, one of the richest men who ever lived. A bold question came to my mind. What do we do? The book of Ecclesiastes comes to a close with 3 conclusions. Chapter 12 tells us to "Fear God", "Keep God's commandments", be prepared for judgment day because "God will bring every deed into judgment including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."
So I challenged myself to rid my home and my life of the meaningless things around me. I am going to "attempt" to use everything in my home this month. I know that sounds crazy, but I honestly want to see how much excess we have here in our home.
By having so much stuff in our home that is not necessary, what are we teaching our children? Are we fearing God and keeping his commands in America? Are we ready for judgment day? For me, I have realized that my family needs to get back to the basics of life. The simple, yet beautiful things...not striving for the biggest accumulation of "stuff." For my family, success is not measured by who has the bigger pile of stuff, but who pursues God and his desires for our lives on a daily basis. The real question is do we pursue stuff or pursue God?
13 hours ago
